Large-scale violence erupted in Bangladesh afte the death of a prominent leader in the 2024 student protest that led to the ouster of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government. The activist, Sharif Osman Hadi had been shot on December 12 while he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka
‘Easy to blame farmers’: SC questions if stubble burning alone is reason for Delhi pollution
The Supreme Court on Monday questioned whether stubble burning alone could explain the severe air pollution affecting Delhi and the broader National Capital Region, and asked for a clearer assessment of the contribution of other pollutants, Bar and Bench reported.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said it was “easy to blame farmers” who were not represented before the court and noted that stubble burning had taken place “as usual” during the Covid-19 lockdown but the pollution crisis was not as severe.
“During COVID, stubble burning happened as usual, but we could still see blue skies and stars…,” the court remarked. “Something to be thought about and other factors.”
The Bench then directed the Commission for Air Quality Management to submit a report within a week on measures taken to address additional pollution sources, including vehicular emissions and construction dust, Hindustan Times reported.
“It could come easy to put the blame on farmers and stubble burning, but there are vehicular emissions and construction dust as well,” the newspaper quoted Kant as saying. “Stubble burning cannot become an issue of politics or ego. Farmers need to be apprised and supported.”
Besides, the court asked the air quality monitoring body to explain which of its directives had produced results on the ground and why earlier action plans had failed to achieve meaningful improvements, the newspaper reported.
The court said it would continue to monitor the case regularly as part of its efforts to address the pollution crisis, Bar and Bench reported.
“None of us can sit idle with an assumption that this problem or crisis will go away on its own,” the court said. “This issue cannot be wished away.”
On November 12, the court had sought reports from Punjab and Haryana on measures taken to curb stubble burning by farmers.
The next hearing of the case is scheduled for December 10.
Air quality deteriorates sharply in the winter months in Delhi, which is often ranked the world's most polluted capital.
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, vehicular pollution, along with the lighting of firecrackers during Diwali, falling temperatures, decreased wind speeds and emissions from industries and coal-fired plants contribute to the problem.
Delhi has been recording air quality in the “poor” or worse categories since mid-October, leading to Stage 3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan being imposed on November 11.
GRAP is a set of incremental anti-pollution measures that are triggered to prevent further worsening of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.
On November 26, the Commission for Air Quality Management withdrew the Stage 3 restrictions, citing improved air quality. The restrictions under the GRAP 1 and GRAP 2 remain in force.
At 9.06 am on Tuesday, Delhi's average Air Quality Index stood at 340, placing it in the “very poor” category, as per the Sameer application, which provides hourly updates from the Central Pollution Control Board.
An index value between 0 and 50 indicates “good” air quality, between 51 and 100 indicates “satisfactory” air quality and between 101 and 200 indicates “moderate” air quality. As the index value increases further, air quality deteriorates. A value of 201 and 300 means “poor” air quality, while between 301 and 400 indicates “very poor” air.
Between 401 and 450 indicates “severe” air pollution, while anything above the 450 threshold is termed “severe plus”.
Source: Scroll
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Large-scale violence erupted in Bangladesh afte the death of a prominent leader in the 2024 student protest that led to the ouster of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government. The activist, Sharif Osman Hadi had been shot on December 12 while he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka
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